Memories
by Heliotrope
Summary: What I hope to become a collection of short stories about young Kazuki and Soushi. Will naturally contain KazuSou hints.
1. Chapter 1

MEMORIES: EYES

If Kazuki put his mind to it, he could just about remember it; the day he met Soushi.

He must have been just under three years old, and Soushi about two and a half years. He knew that Soushi's mother had just died; of course, at that time he wasn't aware that she'd actually been assimilated.

"Kazuki, I need to speak to you about something."

Kazuki looked up from his alphabet building blocks at the sound of his mother's voice.

"What is it, mother?" he asked, taking in the sight of the young blond-haired boy clutching at his mother's hand.

"This is Minashiro Soushi," Akane said, casting a sad glance down to the boy in question. "His mother passed away a few days ago, and since his father is going to be very busy at work, your father and I agreed that Soushi could stay with us for a little while."

"Oh, OK," Kazuki replied, staring curiously at their new house guest. Soushi still refused to look up from the floor, his short fringe covering his eyes.

"Soushi-kun, why don't you go and play with Kazuki-kun over there, while I finish up dinner," Akane suggested, letting go of Soushi's hand and giving him a gentle nudge of encouragement.

"A-alright," Soushi mumbled in a quiet, shaky voice, finally glancing up to meet Kazuki's gaze.

Kazuki blinked and gazed back at him; Soushi's eyes were an interesting shade of blue - almost grey, really, like the sky on a snowy day.

"Your eyes are nice," Kazuki said, causing Soushi to bow his head again.

"Oh, thank you," he said, looking embarrassed.

"They're like a snowy sky," Kazuki continued, gaining confidence. "I like it when it snows."

"Me, too."

"Really?" Soushi just nodded. "That's good. I remember it snowed last winter; but I was too little to go outside and play in it. Maybe this year we could play in it together?"

Soushi looked at him in disbelief. "Why would you want to do that?"

"It'll be more fun with someone else there, that's why," answered Kazuki. "Besides, I like you. You're my first proper friend."

"You want to be my friend?"

"Sure! You'll be my friend, right?"

"I'd-- I'd like that."

That winter they had played in the snow together; building snowmen and having snowball fights with the other kids.

And Kazuki could clearly remember gazing at Soushi, the other boy's face flushed with happiness, and thinking even at that time and at that young age, that the sky didn't even come close to the beauty of Soushi's eyes.

* * *

Short and sweet, eh?

I wanted it to be ironic; the thing that drew Kazuki to Soushi right-away (in this case, his eyes) is the thing that causes so much trouble later on.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Oh, look; I made another one. And it's filled with angst. This story just came to mind over a couple of days. And just to let you know, I am in the middle of writing the next 'Days of Blue' chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

MEMORIES: BIRTHDAY

Kazuki sat, his head propped up on his hands, gazing out the classroom window. He heard the soft patter of footsteps behind him, but didn't bother looking around.

"Kazuki-kun, what are you still doing in here?" came Maya's inquiring voice. "The bell went nearly ten minutes ago – it's lunch time."

Kazuki slowly turned to gaze at Maya, and he heard her take a sharp intake of breath at the sight of his blank, red assimilated eyes. "It's snowing," he said simply, nodding towards the window.

"What?" Maya quickly recovered her composure and hurried over, joining Kazuki by the window. "Oh, wow, you're right! It's so pretty." She stole a concerned glance at the dark-haired boy, who had returned to looking outside. "Kazuki-kun, are you ok? You've been in a daze all day. Maybe you should go home and rest. You're still recovering from the last battle with the Festum. I'm sure the school wouldn't mind if you—"

"Do you know what day it is today?"

"Huh?" Maya blinked in bemusement at his sudden question. "Well, it's nearly the new year…"

"It's the 27th of December."

Maya nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"It's Soushi's birthday."

Maya froze, suddenly feeling guilty for forgetting about that. "Kazuki-kun… you're right; it would have been today."

"I… I was hoping that he'd be back by now," Kazuki murmured, dull eyes still fixed on the falling snow. "I know he's only been away for a few weeks, but I'd hoped he'd be back for his birthday and the new year."

"Be back…?" Maya whispered. As far as she was concerned, Soushi had died that day during the final battle. Kazuki had been like a zombie since that day, just carrying on as though he was on autopilot. And Maya didn't have the heart to depress him even more by telling him what she really thought of the situation.

"That year we met, Soushi and I played in the snow together. It was so much fun," Kazuki said, his voice dreamy, yet sad. "The snow looks duller this year somehow. Though maybe that's just because of these," he added, pointing to his eyes.

"When you've overcome your assimilation, I'm sure your vision will return to normal," Maya tried to assure him.

"I didn't find out when Soushi's birthday was until the following year," Kazuki continued as though he hadn't heard her. "I can still remember it."

* * *

"_Happy birthday, Kazuki-kun," Makabe Akane said cheerfully as she placed the birthday cake on the table before her son. "Blow out the candles and make a wish."_

_The four-year-old Kazuki grinned back at her brightly, "Ok!" He closed his eyes and blew out the four candles._

_As Akane began cutting the cake, Kazuki looked at her expectantly. "Mum, is Soushi coming over for my party today?"_

"_I'm sorry, Kazuki-kun, but Minashiro-san was called away on a, um, business trip last night, and he took Soushi-kun with him. But they'll be back next week."_

"_Oh, I see," Kazuki sighed, poking dejectedly at the slice of cake. And then a thoughtfully expression crossed his face. "Hey, mum, when is Soushi's birthday?"_

"_I think it's on the 27th of December."_

"_Do you think he'd like it if I baked him a birthday cake?" Kazuki asked, his brown eyes lighting up in excitement._

_Akane almost laughed at her son's enthusiasm. "I'm sure he'd like that very much."__"Keep your eyes closed, Soushi. You'll spoil the surprise!"_

* * *

"_Kazuki, they are closed," Soushi insisted, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. _

"_Ok, you can open them now," Kazuki announced. "Surprise! Happy birthday!"_

_Soushi opened his eyes and looked down; there before him on his lap lay a plate with a small, round cake on it. It was a very simple sponge cake, with white icing and the words 'happy birthday, Soushi!' scrawled across the top in red and blue colouring in surprisingly neat letters._

"_Do you like it?" Kazuki asked, hands clasped together as he shifted about nervously on the little bench where they sat beneath the shrine. "I made it myself. Mum's been teaching me to cook lately and… I hope it's alright." _

_Soushi looked up from the cake and stared at Kazuki, his face slightly flushed. "I-it looks great. I love it," he stammered. "Thank you, Kazuki. I'm sure it'll taste great, too. My… my mother never had the chance to teach me how to cook, and as for my father, well, he's not all that interested in food."_

_Kazuki felt an overwhelming feeling of sympathy wash over for Soushi – he sounded so lonely. He wanted to change that. "I'm glad you like it. You know, I could try and teach you to cook if you'd like or you could join in when my mother teaches me."_

"_Maybe… I might be a little busy from now on, though," Soushi said, looking somewhat nervous. "My dad's away on, um, business trips a lot lately. And he wants me to learn about the business, too." The blond boy tried to smile at his friend. "Hey, do you want to share this with me?" he asked, nodding towards the cake._

"_Sure, I'd love to," Kazuki replied, brightening up again. He suddenly remembered about the little package on the seat beside him. "Oh, I almost forgot; I got you this, too." He handed the bright-wrapped gift to Soushi. "It's not much, but…"_

_Soushi unwrapped the present with care. "Hairbands?"_

"_Yeah," Kazuki nodded eagerly. "I remember you saying before that you were planning on letting your hair grow." He glanced at Soushi, whose hair fell just past his chin. "Actually it's already getting longer. I thought you could use them in the future."_

_Soushi smiled at him gently, holding the little packet of hair bands close to his chest like a treasured item. "Thank you, I will."_

* * *

Kazuki could still remember the look of pure happiness of Soushi's face when he had given him that cake and that present. And it occurred to him now that was probably the most attention Soushi had ever received on his birthday; with his mother dieing when he was so young, and his father being preoccupied by his 'business trips'.

Kazuki felt a lump rise up in his throat, and he swallowed weakly. 'He must have felt so lonely during that time, having no one to talk to about the Festum. And to think I was upset with him because he didn't make it to my birthday party that year, and that I was jealous of his 'trips' to 'Tokyo'…'

Kazuki suddenly rose from his chair, making Maya glance at him in surprise. "Kazuki-kun…?"

"You're right; I'm not feeling that well right now. My visions gone a bit blurry again," Kazuki said quickly, rubbing his sleeve against his face to conceal the tears that had sprung to his eyes. "Please let the teacher know that I've gone home for the day."

Maya watched sadly as Kazuki stumbled out of the classroom door. She sighed and turned back to her snow-watching.

"Minashiro-kun," Maya whispered under her breath. "If you are still out, please hurry home. You're missed more than you can possibly imagine. … happy birthday."

* * *

The end, until another idea comes to mind.


End file.
